No Flash in the Pan
When it comes to allowing consumers to get a high-quality meal on the table quickly, it’s hard to beat frozen skillet meals. Name brands ranging from Bertolli to Newman’s Own promise a restaurant-style experience in just minutes; in-home “cooks” need only a skillet and a spoon to get a meal from pouch to table.
Such meals — like many other frozen foods — also are priced higher than their canned and shelf-stable counterparts, leading U.S. consumers to believe that their high economic value must correlate to a higher nutritional value, according to “Frozen Processed Food in the US,” a January 2014 report from London-based Euromonitor International. Also helping to boost their image is the fact that the packaging for frozen skillet meals — and frozen foods overall — tends to be sleeker than in other categories.
Trends with traction
When it comes to strong existing trends in frozen skillet meals, ethnic flavor profiles stand out. Mexican, Asian and Italian items are still the most popular ethnic flavors, says Jeff Gehres, senior director of sales and product development for Request Foods Inc., a Holland, Mich.-based copacker of frozen prepared entrèes, side dishes and specialty items.
“We see continued growth in the Mexican and Asian frozen meal category,” he states. “The Indian, Caribbean and Thai products are now becoming much more popular when we are developing the new retail frozen meal products. The single-serve meals and the skillet bag packaging format is where most of our R&D time is being spent on the ethnic flavors.”
Trends on the horizon
As for emerging trends within the category, Gehres points to growing interest in health- and wellness-minded formulations.
“We continue to see growth in the products with cleaner ingredient statements,” he says. “Gluten-free and all-natural items will continue to pick up steam in the retail market this next year.”
In its July 2014 “Category Insight: Prepared Meals,” global market research firm Mintel also notes that the development of more healthful formats will offer a means to target the “important and growing” demographic of older consumers.
“There is scope for frozen brands to simplify ingredients lists, be more clear and transparent about the origins of meals, clearly advertise nutritional information and emphasize naturalness and quality,” Mintel notes in relation to North American opportunities.
And on the ethnic flavors front within prepared meals, Mintel says it expects the choices to become more regional, emphasizing authentic attributes.
“Companies could also look to wider trends such as crowdsourcing as a means to gauge consumer interest in new cuisines and drive engagement,” the market research firm says.